Chapter 233: Belacia City
Belacia City was a small city, just like Bluebird said. Even when compared with other small cities, such as the Town of Beginnings or the Port City Lockheart, Belacia City was still the smallest. Seeing it from afar, there were only a few buildings surrounded by a row of walls that only came up to their chests, a height that seemed useless for defense considering the local monsters. There was only one two-story building in the city. It was a restaurant located in the center.
Bluebird took out a cloak from his system window and donned it. He also wrapped it around his face to cover most of his facial features.
Witnessing what he did, Burapha asked, "Didn"t you say that clothing is not helpful in resisting the cold? Why are you suddenly putting on a cloak?"
"Erm... I just want to warm my heart, okay? Don"t ask too much. Let"s split up. I"m going back," replied Bluebird.
Sila turned to Bluebird and asked, "Eh? Why? We just arrived. Aside from you, we are clueless when it comes to this city."
"The restaurant is the very center of this city. The western side is the residential area, the eastern side is the market, the northern side is monster territory, and the south is where we just came from—the Winter Forest. Don"t pick a fight in the restaurant and don"t cause trouble for the Medical Saint. When people are fighting or monsters are raiding, you don"t have to be concerned about the safety of others. The people here can take care of themselves and they are always so vigilant."
Bluebird"s explanation was so hasty as if he was in a hurry.
"Don"t pick a fight in the restaurant and don"t cause trouble for the Medical Saint. Why?" asked Burapha.
"Because there is only one restaurant in this city. It acts as a resting, relaxing spot for everyone. If you dare to start a fight there, you will surely be hunted down. The people here won"t care which side of the argument is right or wrong. They only care who starts it. As for the Medical Saint, he works in a clinic located at the rebirth zone. His fighting ability is not that great compared to others, but his medical skills are second to none. Everyone in this city, no matter who they are, has been treated by him at least once or twice. In conclusion, he is one of the most important figures in this city. Thus, don"t harm him and don"t damage the clinic. Otherwise, the citizens are going to lynch you."
"Is there a potion shop, sir? In the case that I want to open a business in the city, are there any regulations I must follow?" asked Sebastian.
Franz and Asura"s faces went noticeably pale. Sebastian opening a business meant they would have to work their a.s.ses off in a sweatshop without being able to see the light of day.
Bluebird replied, "They didn"t have one last year. The ingredients for potion-brewing seemed to be difficult to acquire, so people often used ones that could be purchased from the system-generated building. If you really want to open a business, you can set up a stall or rent a building, and you can sell whatever you want. This city is separated from the outside so there are always some strange shops opened on a whim. Just go there and you will see for yourself."
Franz interrupted the conversation. "B-But... Erm... our objective behind coming here is not to open a shop, r-right? I heard we came here for another purpose."
Sila nodded. "Indeed, our main objective is to recruit people. We have to keep this in mind."
Asura secretly gave Franz a thumbs up. "Mn... In that case, opening a business will just waste our precious time... Young man, you"re absolutely right, we have to keep this in mind. Let"s make it so that any plans regarding opening a shop are not a priority."
Sebastian smirked. "In order to invite people to join us, I believe the first thing we must do is to create a sense of unity, sir. By having a potion shop, we will be able to form a bond with the citizens. Then, the recruitment will become easier."
Sila followed this line of thought. "Umm… You"re right. What Sebastian said also makes sense. What should we do?"
"Why don"t we just do both, Big Brother? That way the chances of us failing are reduced. Let"s split up into two groups and perform different tasks," proposed Burapha.
"That sounds good. What do you think, Bluebird?"
"What do I think? Why does it matter? I"m going back. I even brought you here through a shortcut. What else do you want from me?" Bluebird"s gaze wandered around, being oddly vigilant.
"Your Boss seemed to order you to stay with us in Belacia City and help us to the best of your ability though," Burapha said with a victorious smile.
Bluebird swiftly turned his head. "How do you know about that?"
"Your Boss instructed White Swan to pa.s.s a message along to me. She asked me to tell you this in the case that you aren"t willing to help us. Your Boss seemed to predict that you would surely flee from the responsibility."
"Sheesh! Boss, oh, Boss! And here I thought I was the only one who knew about her order. I didn"t expect her to pa.s.s her order through Swan to Burapha!"
Since it was the Boss" order, Bluebird had no choice but to grit his teeth and comply without his consent. "Fine. However, I will act alone. Just contact me using the system window if you want anything."
"That is fine. Bluebird specializes in gathering intel, so acting alone will give you more freedom. Just inform us when you obtain any important intel," Sila agreed.
"I will also go my own way here. Let"s meet again when the opportunity arises, Sila, Burapha, and umm... you too, my number one fanboy," Lomyok said.
Bluebird opened his mouth widely. "Who is your fanboy?!"
Lomyok straightened his back as he waved his fan elegantly. "Ahem~ No need to hide it. Your behavior made it kind of obvious. You were always furious when I ignored you, and always tried to get my attention. Moreover, you kept jotting down every word I said. Who else can you be aside from being my fan? Well, to be honest, I"m surprised to know that I have such an enthusiastic fanboy."
Bluebird"s brain went temporarily blank; he was speechless. Meanwhile, Burapha was laughing so hard that his stomach hurt. "Wahahaha! A fanboy! What a great joke! Hahahaha!"
Lomyok took out a sheet of paper and wrote his signature on it. He swiftly threw it to Bluebird who caught it unconsciously.
"That is for my number one fanboy... In any case, I will be traveling around Belacia City for quite a while, at least until I finish visiting the Vampire Queen in the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Castle and make sure that the white-fur monster is not around here. If destiny truly exists, we may meet again. Adios~"
Everyone politely bid Lomyok farewell. Only Bluebird stayed silent as he was still too shocked. Even Sila had a hard time suppressing his chuckle.
"D-d.a.m.n! Just you wait, Lomyok! I will take my revenge one day, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!!" Bluebird declared loudly as his dignity was trampled on.
"Oho, Big Brother Lomyok just left, yet you are already expressing your desire to meet him again. As expected of his number one fanboy. Hahaha!" Burapha teased.
Bluebird was about to retort. However, he noticed blue vapor emitting from his body. It meant he was losing control over his emotions, which prompted Asmodeus" psychic power to surge. He had to calm down, so he counted to one hundred in his mind.
Seeing that the joke went too far, Sila stopped it. "Easy, easy. Let"s quit it and split up. We will split into two equal groups. One will act openly while the other will act secretly. My group will openly invite people to join us while Sebastian"s group will open a potion shop to slowly build up intimacy with the people."
"I am quite knowledgeable when it comes to trading and management, so I guess I will be with Mister Sebastian," Burapha volunteered.
Sila shook his head. "No, I think Burapha should be in my team. You want to train yourself, right? In that case, being in the open will be more convenient. As for the potion shop, Sebastian used to run one in Zhongsuyuan City, so there won"t be a problem. Am I right?"
Sebastian agreed with Sila. "Yes, sir. You can count on me to take care of it."
Sila looked at Lookhin who had been doing nothing but eat. "I guess Lookhin will have to stay with me. What about you, Mamon?"
"I prefer staying away from the bird girl," replied Mamon.
"Mn. Actually, Mamon is good at item utilization, so it will be better for you to join Sebastian"s group. What about you, Mister Asura, Miss Franz?"
The monster duo turned to look at each other. Sila stated beforehand that the teams would be equal in members. Now that Sila"s group consisted of three members while Sebastian"s had two, if the two of them both volunteered to join Sila"s team, the ratio would be five to two; the gap would be too wide. However, if only one of them joined, the number would be acceptable.
"Well, I"m willing to sacrifice myself and join your group." Franz was the first to take action.
Asura hurriedly argued. "Oh, no, Franz, my dear friend. Of course I can sacrifice myself for your sake. You can stay with Sebastian. As for me, I am willing to put myself in danger in your place."
Franz didn"t give up. "No, thanks. You and Sebastian are both undead. There must be many things you want to talk about together. I will go for you."
Seeing that the two couldn"t settle it easily, Sila said, "To be honest, neither of you have to force yourself to come with me. Both of you can stay with Sebastian. Maybe you two will want to spend time with friends."
"This is bad! At this rate, both of us will end up being in Sebastian"s group. If that is the case..."
"Hold on, Sebastian"s Master!! There is a solid reason I want to join your team. This kid, Burapha, still has a lot he has to improve and learn about psychic power before he can fight on par against a skilled opponent. I"m but a benevolent monster who holds my comrade dearly. Seeing his talent, I can"t afford to let it go to waste. Therefore, I"m willing to impart to him my special technique regarding psychic power in order to make him become stronger." Asura made an excuse. He went as far as dragging Burapha into it.
"Really? You will teach me?" Burapha asked as he was pleasantly surprised.
"That kind of technique is unneeded. I will teach you my poison art. You don"t need to be that strong. Just toss it at your opponent, and they will fall down squirming in pain," Franz argued.
"It"s good that you mentioned poison... Oh, Franz, my dear friend. I felt really guilty when you forced these two pellets into my hands. I was opposed to the idea, but you still insisted that I take them. Please, just take them back. Stealing products from the shop really doesn"t sit well with me."
Asura activated the ultimate skill—Selling A Friend Out. He blatantly exposed Franz"s wrongdoing as he handed Sebastian the two pellets Franz had stolen from the shop.
"Asura, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d...!" Franz gnashed her teeth.
"Mn... these are indeed the pellets from our shop. It seems strict discipline for employees is required. Well, Franz, you will have to join my group," Sebastian said lightly, however, his words were like a decree. Upon hearing them, Franz froze up. Looking at the other member, Mamon, she realized there was no way he would do the physical labor. Having to work alone was bad enough by itself. On top of that, she was going to be punished. She glared at Asura.
Asura walked to Sila and said to Franz with his most sympathetic voice, "I"m doing this for your own good, my dear friend, really. You need redemption. It"s still not too late for you to reform."
Franz was so close to screaming her lungs out. Nevertheless, she suppressed her anger. Revenge is a dish best served cold. She would wait ten years if she had to.
"From now on, I will have to be on guard against poison. I won"t touch anything Franz gives me," Asura thought while eyeing her expression.
"Well, let"s split up," said Sila, to which Sebastian nodded. Before they went their separate ways, the butler handed Sila a certain amount of money.
"This is 500 gold, sir. Please take it. I heard you didn"t have much money on you."
Sila happily took it. After that, Sebastian"s group walked off, and Bluebird took this as his cue to leave. Now only Sila"s group remained, consisting of himself, Burapha, Lookhin, and Asura.
"Where should we start, Big Brother? Do you have a plan?"
Sila shook his head as he replied, "In order to persuade someone to join us, at the very least, we will have to know their circ.u.mstances. Let"s start by visiting the restaurant. We will observe what kind of lifestyle the players have."
The rest of the group, except for Lookhin who didn"t bother expressing her opinion, agreed with Sila"s plan. They entered the city and walked along the main street. Some people glanced at Sila"s group briefly before removing their gazes. They were mildly curious. It was rare for this place to have newcomers. Despite this, there had been an unusual amount of people arriving lately.
The restaurant was a two-story building entirely made of wood. It stood firmly, perfectly fine, against a cold storm. There were only a handful of people on the first floor. Nevertheless, Sila wanted to have a better look at the city, so he went upstairs.
The four of them sat at the table next to the window. As soon as they sat down, a female waitress approached them, using her magic power to levitate four bowls of noodles. She placed them on Sila"s table and quickly left once it was done.
"Eh? We didn"t place an order, did we?" Burapha wondered.
"That girl just now was a fairy. Members of the fairy race have an appearance resembling humans, so I can"t tell whether her rank is Lord or not. In any case, she is quite skilled compared to most fairies you see in public. Her movements were quick and she could use magic power to levitate several bowls of noodles without spilling the soup. I guess she is someone"s pet."
Asura expressed his thoughts as he looked at the bowl of noodles in front of him. He normally only consumed liquids, but that didn"t mean he couldn"t eat normal food. It just wasn"t necessary for him, nutrients-wise. He used a pair of chopsticks to grab the noodles and found that every strand had the exact same length and thickness.
"The chef is skilled." He took a bite. "And the food is delicious."
Lookhin activated her psychic power and lifted her bowl up, then made its contents float out of the bowl and into her mouth.
Sila reprimanded her. "Lookhin, please eat properly. Use a spoon and a pair of chopsticks."
Lookhin pouted. She picked a pair of chopsticks up. Still, she only pretended to use it as she secretly used her psychic power to control the bowl. Sila sighed looking at her.
"Is it okay for us to eat? Maybe she served the wrong table," said Burapha. He looked around and found that, aside from their group, four tables were seated. Everybody was similarly eating bowls of noodles.
"They are yours. You can be at ease, she didn"t deliver them to the wrong table. The chef here sought for, hunted, and cooked ingredients personally. The menu changes every day according to what he has. We can"t be picky."
A man sitting at the table next to them started a conversation. He stood up and approached Sila. "Can I sit with you?"
Sila couldn"t tell what kind of person this man was. He was a robust man in loose clothing made of cotton. His skin was tan and st.u.r.dy like a steel plate. His gaze was rough but tingled with a beautiful shade of blue as if his eyes were ice jewels. The qi this man emitted was calm and cool.
The expression on Sila"s face didn"t change. Although he couldn"t tell whether this man was friendly or hostile, he politely greeted him. "You"re welcome. Please take a seat."
The man sat down as several gazes from other tables fell onto theirs. Sila really couldn"t discern whether the gazes contained vigilance, suspicions, something else.
The atmosphere in Belacia City was tense. The relationships of the players in this place seemed to be complicated as Sila couldn"t tell who was friendly and who was hostile. Like the city"s nickname—the Borderless City—implied, there was no clear line separating the types of relationships the citizens of this city had with each other.